ASEANASEAN, officially an abbreviation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia. It has a population of over 600 million and covers an area of . ASEAN generated a purchasing power parity (PPP) gross domestic product (GDP) of around trillion in 2022, constituting approximately 6.5% of global GDP (PPP).
Asia-Pacific Economic CooperationAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC 'eɪpɛk ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of ASEAN's series of post-ministerial conferences launched in the mid-1980s, APEC started in 1989, in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world; it aimed to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe.
ChampaChampa (Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; ចាម្ប៉ា; Chiêm Thành 占城 or Chăm Pa 占婆) was a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd century AD until 1832. According to earliest historical references found in ancient sources, the first Cham polities were established around the 2nd to 3rd centuries CE, in the wake of Khu Liên's rebellion against the rule of China's Eastern Han dynasty, and lasted until when the final remaining principality of Champa was annexed by Emperor Minh Mạng of the Vietnamese Nguyễn dynasty as part of the expansionist Nam tiến policy.
Montagnard (Vietnam)Montagnard (ˌmɒn.tənˈjɑːrd) is an umbrella term for the various indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The French term Montagnard (mɔ̃.ta.ɲaʁ) signifies a mountain dweller, and is a carryover from the French colonial period in Vietnam. In Vietnamese, they are known by the term người Thượng (highlanders), although this term can also be applied to other minority ethnic groups in Vietnam. In modern Vietnam, both terms are archaic, and indigenous ethnic groups are referred to as đồng bào (compatriots) or người dân tộc thiểu số (minority people).
HainanHainan (UKhai'naen, US-nɑːn; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. Hainan Island, the largest and most populous island in China, makes up the vast majority (97%) of the province. The name means "south of the sea", reflecting the island's position south of the Qiongzhou Strait, which separates it from Leizhou Peninsula and the Chinese mainland.
LaosLaos (ˈlɑːoʊs), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or LPDR), is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane. Present-day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to Lan Xang, which existed from the 13th century to the 18th century as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia.
Spratly IslandsThe Spratly Islands (Kapuluan ng Kalayaan; Mandarin ; Kepulauan Spratly; Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets, cays, and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls, the archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam. Named after the 19th-century British whaling captain Richard Spratly who sighted Spratly Island in 1843, the islands contain less than of naturally occurring land area, which is spread over an area of more than .
Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and north-west of mainland Australia which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by Australia and the Indian Ocean.
Table tennisTable tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of two, players take alternating turns returning a light, hollow ball over the table's net onto the opposing half of the court using small rackets until they fail to do so, which results in a point for the opponent.
Vietnamese languageVietnamese (Tiếng Việt) is an Austroasiatic language from Vietnam where it is the national and official language. Vietnamese is spoken natively by around 85 million people, several times as many as the rest of the Austroasiatic family combined. It is the native language of the Vietnamese (Kinh) people, as well as a second language or first language for other ethnic groups in Vietnam. Like many other languages in Southeast Asia and East Asia, Vietnamese is an analytic language with phonemic tone.
